


Temperantia

by LittlebutFiery



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alcohol Usage, F/M, Implied Relationships, Post-Promised Day, Royai Week, Royai Week 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 09:15:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14931452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittlebutFiery/pseuds/LittlebutFiery
Summary: At an inaugural afterparty, Havoc and Rebecca discuss the nature of Mustang and Hawkeye's relationship.





	Temperantia

**Author's Note:**

> Temperance - (Latin, Temperantia) one of the Seven Heavenly Virtues; moderation or voluntary self-restraint.

It was Inauguration Day in Central City, and the celebrations showed no signs of winding down. Fuhrer Grumman’s inaugural ball had been officially over for an hour now, but that didn’t seem to faze anyone. In the streets, revelers continued to celebrate the official end of Bradley’s despotic rule, while in Central’s finest pub, VIPs indulged themselves at the open bar.

Havoc made his way through the elegantly dressed crowd, careful to avoid spilling either of the drinks he held as he weaved between people. He finally made it to his destination, a table where Rebecca lounged as she idly watched the crowd.

“Took you long enough,” she teased, accepting the cocktail he handed her.

“Yeah, yeah,” Havoc rolled his eyes, waving her off. “The bar was a little crowded. See anything interesting while I was gone?”

Rebecca scowled and nodded in the direction she was looking in. Havoc turned, following her gaze, and realized why she looked so peeved.

Newly-promoted General Mustang was surrounded by a gaggle of beautiful women, who were all laughing coquetteishly at a joke he’d just told. Mustang swayed slightly, clearly drunk, as he continued to flirt, a wolfish grin on his face.

“I can’t believe him,” Rebecca actually sounded angry. Havoc turned to look at her, surprised at the venom in her voice.

“Becca, you know he’s a shameless flirt,” Havoc said.

“He’s a creep, that’s what he is,” Rebecca growled.

Havoc eyed her curiously. “Did he try to make a move on you?”

“No,” Rebecca shook her head, not taking her glare from the alchemist.

“Then why are you so angry?” Havoc asked.

Rebecca grit her teeth and didn’t answer. Finally, Havoc pressed, “This is about Riza, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is!” Rebecca snapped, finally turning to look at her boyfriend. Her dark eyes were ablaze with fury.

Havoc sighed. “Bec, I know you’re protective of her, but…”

“No buts!” Rebecca cut him off. “She’s in love with him. She almost died for him! And this is the thanks she gets – him trying to put his dick in anything that moves, the second she’s not around!”

“You need to calm down,” Havoc scowled. “Give the chief a little credit.”

“Why?” Rebecca hissed, gesturing angrily at Mustang and his flock of admirers.

Havoc sighed again – as much as he loved his girlfriend, she was quick to anger and slow to forgiveness, particularly when it came to her best friend. “Can I tell you a story, Bec?”

She glared at him for a long moment before conceding, “Fine. But if I’m still mad by the end of it, I’m going to go rip your boss a new one.”

“Fair enough,” Havoc shrugged. Rebecca visibly relaxed at his acceptance of the terms, so she took a sip from her drink and waited for him to continue. “You know our code names, yeah?”

“Yeah. He’s the king and you’re all his pawns. Pretentious prick,” Rebecca snorted.

“I’m the _knight_ , thank you very much,” Havoc scowled. “But yeah, he’s the king and Riza’s the queen.”

“Cute. He’s just playing games with her. He knows she cares, and that he can use that,” Rebecca shook her head, not buying it.

“Well, he almost picked different code names for us, plus Hughes. The seven heavenly virtues. Kind of ironic, now that I think about it, since the Homunculi were named after the seven deadly sins,” Havoc replied.

“Let me guess, he was going to be humility,” Rebecca grumbled, still angry.

That brought a laugh from Havoc. “No, that would be Heymans. But he had the names all picked out based on our personalities, our relationships, all that jazz. Guess what he gave Riza.”

Rebecca cocked her head, curious, her anger starting to fade. Havoc continued, “He picked the one he thought was the most important, the most valuable. The one he needed the help of the most.”

At that moment, as if on cue, Hawkeye walked into the bar, still resplendent in her gown from the inaugural ball. Mustang’s eyes were immediately drawn to her; he stared as though everything else had ceased to exist.

As if in a trance, he absentmindedly handed his drink to the girl standing closest to him and all but ran across the room to his adjutant. Mustang embraced her, a completely different expression on his face from moments earlier. He’d been reveling in the attention before, yes – anyone could see that.

But now, his face was lit up in a completely different way, a soft, loving glow across it. It was as if he had eyes for no one else but her, and it was clear she felt the same for him.

One of the girls Mustang had been talking to walked over to the pair, offering Mustang his drink back. He waved her off without even looking at her, still focused on Hawkeye.

Havoc took a sip from his drink, amused at the shock in Rebecca’s eyes. He said, “That virtue he picked for her?”

“Temperance.”


End file.
